Interview Dead State Revealed

[Carlos' Bitch1]

That looks bad. Did they have any idea what a military office was supposed to look like? Feel straight out of The Sims, it does.

Well, I could legitimately step forth about now and say how I personally know what a military office should look like and how hideously hideous it is....

I don't think you have the faintest idea of what an actual military office - or even a desk for that matter - looks like. I do agree that whatever place this screen shows is hideously hideous.

Because I don't have an art degree?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Because you don't have a vagina.

 

[betamin]

I just hope there is more dirt and gore.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

I just hope there is more dirt and gore.

Yes indeed. Couldn't possibly even look at this thing without a lot more dirt and gore.

You do mean aesthetically pleasing dirt and gore, don't you? Not just your bog standard, non art directed, non cartoonish, unlighted dirt and gore?

 

[Freelance Henchman]

aesthetically pleasing dirt and gore

 

[betamin]

I just hope there is more dirt and gore.

Yes indeed. Couldn't possibly even look at this thing without a lot more dirt and gore.

You do mean aesthetically pleasing dirt and gore, don't you? Not just your bog standard, non art directed, non cartoonish, unlighted dirt and gore?

Mmm, more like realistic gore. No Oblivion bloom that looks like dirt on my pc.

Im a realism whore

 

[denizsi]

Codex is the Silent Hill of RPG forums. Every now and then, all the gloomy walls of grit and pus transforms into bloomy sticks with candy coax on the same level of TES fanboyism, especially if the subject involves indies and the number 2 of Codexian erotic fantasies Brian with soda.

 

[serch]

Obligatory 'of course she knows better than us how a kitchen looks like and go make me a sammich' 4dex-chan's joke.

 

[Elhoim]

Heh, I go to sleep and look at what happens.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate all of them, even the extremely negative ones.

Now, about the particular screenshots. The ones from the kitchen and library are from the school shelter, a place untouched by the zombie apocalypse. Also, it's a pretty new school, built very recently. So there is no real reason to add gore and extreme grime there. I will surely play with the lights and shadows to give different moods.

Then we have the two "outer world" shots. The one of the car in the remote road, and the one of the fast food interior. I plan to add a little more gore and decay there, although we won't go the route of "blood splashed everywhere!".

 

[MisterStone]

I think the ZRPG screenshots look just fine, at the very least they won't detract from a good turn based RPG/strategy game. The childrens' library and the fast food restaurant look perfectly realistic to me. IIRC the game starts out fairly soon after the zombie apocalypse so you can't expect everything to look like Fallout in a dust storm or sth. It would be a nice touch if things sort of decay/become trashier over time though.

 

[Fat Dragon]

Wow, game looks really nice, better than expected. Wasn't this game announced only last year? Brian's team really have their shit together if they're making good progress this quickly, too bad many other indie devs aren't that hard working. Looking forward to more.

 

[Ion Flux]

Ever played X-Com? Pushing the "Turn" button in that game can be far more terrifying than anything the Resident Evil series could hope to muster.

Oh fuck! Where did that chrysalid come from?

Amen. X-COM's use of LOS fog of war + the throbbing John Carpenter-esque soundtrack made for some pretty terrifying TB moments. It's all about design and implementation.

Now that I mention it, I hope Dead State has the right soundtrack. So much can be done with music to create fear and tension.

 

[Fat Dragon]

Seeing as how noise plays such an important gameplay role, I wouldn't expect much for a soundtrack other than a few quiet ambient pieces. Something similar to Thief would be fucking awesome.

 

[Silellak]

Seeing as how noise plays such an important gameplay role, I wouldn't expect much for a soundtrack other than a few quiet ambient pieces. Something similar to Thief would be fucking awesome.

Correct. Per Mitsoda on the ZRPG forum back on August 10th:

Most likely there will be no score or an extremely limited one while you're outside the Shelter. We want to reinforce the lifelessness of the world and the fact that Noise will bring attention to the party. We'll probably have musical cues for specific events or areas, and a handful of themes to punctuate certain situations.

 

[Ion Flux]

Seeing as how noise plays such an important gameplay role, I wouldn't expect much for a soundtrack other than a few quiet ambient pieces. Something similar to Thief would be fucking awesome.

Correct. Per Mitsoda on the ZRPG forum back on August 10th:

Most likely there will be no score or an extremely limited one while you're outside the Shelter. We want to reinforce the lifelessness of the world and the fact that Noise will bring attention to the party. We'll probably have musical cues for specific events or areas, and a handful of themes to punctuate certain situations.

Makes sense. Sounds groovy.

 

[Radisshu]

pic

We love you too, despite your recent nose-dive decline.

So you actually did save that picture?

Anyway, my point is, this is an indie RPG from a small studio. Did you expect flashy graphics?

I realise graphics are not the same as art direction, but come on? It's pretty realistic looking. I'd rather play a solid game with bland visuals and nondistinct art direction than a solid game with distinct, and memorable but shitty art direction. It's not a huge issue, and discussing it as such is pretty heavy decline. What's interest me more is the linear/nonlinear aspects. Is there a plot? Are there quests? Does the game play more like Dwarf Fortress than Fallout? Etc.

 

[Kingston]

The only problem I really see is that I wouldn't be able to tell what game the screenshot is from. This stems mostly from the setting: I can immediately tell that a screenshot is from AoD because it has a bunch of people in roman uniform and lots of Roman architecture, which no other game has. Here we are emulating the real world, and therefore there aren't any big clues. The Sims comes to mind precisely because of that reason, it's the only isometric game in recent memory that is going for a realistic style in a modern world setting.

They could've gone for an exaggerated style, which people would remember, but then everyone would complain about the gigantic shoulderpads. I would've preferred that they go 2D, but that isn't always a viable option for a small team, as 3D is that much quicker to work with (especially because they have AoD's code to use).

Besides, the game sounds awesome. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Lesifoere]

Don't be such a woman, Lesi.

You've claimed that "the art direction, or rather the lack of it, is hideous. Hideously hideous." and that " it's slapped together to approximate concepts with only the faintest idea of what actual kitchens/libraries/fastfood joints look like".

The first statement is an obvious exaggeration aimed to show your edginess and overall coolness. "Look at me. I'm not like other sheeple here who praise the visuals mindlessly. I'm an educated woman with like taste and shit and I know what kitchens look like, mkay?"

That you think someone finding this art non-direction terrible constitutes an attempt at edginess rather than a simple opinion speaks volumes about you, actually; the chest-beating effort to analyze my tone is cute. I'd tell you to unclench, but I realize that sphincter has been frozen into position for years.

 

[MisterStone]

Daaaaayyummmm

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Just change the office a bit, instead of pictures of planets and shit just add some pictures of the boobie cards of the Witcher or NPC portraits of IWD. That way you can easily gain artfag approval. Simple solutions for simple problems bros.

ps: My bathroom has the same art direction as in the pic from Blackadder btw, I love to take a shit there. Really.

pps: sometimes I sit there for hours shitting, enthralled by the consistent art direction

 

[Vault Dweller]

Don't be such a woman, Lesi.

You've claimed that "the art direction, or rather the lack of it, is hideous. Hideously hideous." and that " it's slapped together to approximate concepts with only the faintest idea of what actual kitchens/libraries/fastfood joints look like".

The first statement is an obvious exaggeration aimed to show your edginess and overall coolness. "Look at me. I'm not like other sheeple here who praise the visuals mindlessly. I'm an educated woman with like taste and shit and I know what kitchens look like, mkay?"

That you think someone finding this art non-direction terrible constitutes an attempt at edginess rather than a simple opinion speaks volumes about you, actually; the chest-beating effort to analyze my tone is cute. I'd tell you to unclench, but I realize that sphincter has been frozen into position for years.

There are two people in this 5-page thread bitching about the art direction of a kitchen screenshot. Two. Let's think about it for a moment.

Yeah, it's not an attempt to be edgy at all.

 

[treave]

Just feels a bit too clean. But maybe this is pre-zombie. I'm sure afterwards there'll be blood and shit all over the place. Also lighting is a big deal when it comes to evoking mood.

Yeah, it's clean, but there's no reason for blood to spontaneously appear all over the place if people fled long ago. Maybe things should be scattered around since they were in a fucking hurry, but meh.

Well, by afterwards I meant after zombies sweep in and kill everyone. The place definitely looks untouched.

The ones from the kitchen and library are from the school shelter, a place untouched by the zombie apocalypse.

And if this is the case then there really isn't anything to complain about, though honestly the internal screenshots appear sterile enough that I'm reminded of a Vault. Which could be good. It makes you feel that the place you're in is safe. Secure. There's no tension evoked, yet.

Makes it even better when suddenly zombies break in and eat everyone and you're out of time units or something.

 

[Silellak]

Just change the office a bit, instead of pictures of planets and shit just add some pictures of the boobie cards of the Witcher or NPC portraits of IWD. That way you can easily gain artfag approval. Simple solutions for simple problems bros.

ps: My bathroom has the same art direction as in the pic from Blackadder btw, I love to take a shit there. Really.

pps: sometimes I sit there for hours shitting, enthralled by the consistent art direction

 

[denizsi]

pic

We love you too, despite your recent nose-dive decline.

So you actually did save that picture?

Baby I got your entire fb album in my hdd, though I haven't looked at any other picture of yours twice.

It's not a huge issue, and discussing it as such is pretty heavy decline.

That's where the rosy-glass candy-bar Codexers lose it. Just because it's not a huge issue doesn't mean anyone should curb their voices about it and it just so happens that a butthurt wave of zerg Codexers can't take that anyone would find these sophisticated works of visual sterility to be less appealing because they have reached godhood of visual appreciation and can't tolerate low level scum.

It's a funny sight, I must admit. No more need to visit ESF for a few laughs.

There are two people in this 5-page thread bitching about the art direction of a kitchen screenshot. Two. Let's think about it for a moment.

Compelling argument. Just wait a moment while I visit ESF and make a thread about why Oblivion isn't a good game. I'm sure I'll be proven wrong by sheer numbers.

edit: Ok, I'm back. Oblivion is a fucking masterpiece. Fuck Arcanum and all that shit. Don't believe me? Oblivion sold millions whereas Arcanum sold.. how many exactly? Also, there were a lot of people who told me so. More than the entire Codex united.

Let's think about that for a moment.

 

[Ion Flux]

pic

We love you too, despite your recent nose-dive decline.

So you actually did save that picture?

Baby I got your entire fb album in my hdd, though I haven't looked at any other picture of yours twice.

It's not a huge issue, and discussing it as such is pretty heavy decline.

That's where the rosy-glass candy-bar Codexers lose it. Just because it's not a huge issue doesn't mean anyone should curb their voices about it and it just so happens that a butthurt wave of zerg Codexers can't take that anyone would find these sophisticated works of visual sterility to be less appealing because they have reached godhood of visual appreciation and can't tolerate low level scum.

It's a funny sight, I must admit. No more need to visit ESF for a few laughs.

There are two people in this 5-page thread bitching about the art direction of a kitchen screenshot. Two. Let's think about it for a moment.

Compelling argument. Just wait a moment while I visit ESF and make a thread about why Oblivion isn't a good game. I'm sure I'll be proven wrong by sheer numbers.

edit: Ok, I'm back. Oblivion is a fucking masterpiece. Fuck Arcanum and all that shit. Don't believe me? Oblivion sold millions whereas Arcanum sold.. how many exactly? Also, there were a lot of people who told me so. More than the entire Codex united.

Let's think about that for a moment.

This is a really excellent comparison you've made here. Morrowind is a beautiful game that I've never been able to finish because the gameplay sucks. I don't give a crap about art direction if this ZRPG thing isn't fun to play. To me art direction is like icing. If the cake is made of cardboard, it's still a crappy cake. However, a good cake without icing is still pretty good. This is pretty obvious stuff but people still like their beautiful, cardboard cakes. :shrug: